Medina cancels Wednesday meeting on police reform due to Covid concerns

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 November 2020 at 11:59 am

Public welcome to fill out online survey, email comments

MEDINA – The Medina Committee on Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative was planning a second public meeting on Wednesday to take comments from the community.

But the recent spike in Covid-19 cases locally prompted the committee to cancel the in-person meeting.

“With new restrictions being put in place, we want to make sure we’re taking the public health of the community into account with all of our actions,” said Scott Robinson, a member of the committee.

The committee has been reviewing current Medina Police Department policies and procedures, while also reviewing new additions and modifications for consideration.

Following the public comment received on September 23, the committee launched an email address and survey to increase participation in the process. Comments can be emailed to medinaprrc@gmail.com.

Click here for a link to the survey in English and click here for the survey in Spanish.

Through the remainder of 2020, the committee will be reviewing public comments, policy and procedure recommendations, and additional recommendations being offered by stakeholders from the community and committee.

On June 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo initiated an executive order entitled the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. The core objective was that each local government with a police department needed to review the policies, procedures, and strategies of the police department.

To achieve this, each head of government must work with the leader of the police department to compile a group of community stakeholders who will review these activities. In medina’s case, Mayor Mike Sidari and Police Chief Chad Kenward worked to form a committee.

The committee includes faith-based leaders, business owners, the district attorney, public defender, a representative of the public schools, and others.

Consistent with the Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order, after receiving community input, a plan will be submitted for acceptance to the Medina Village Board and provided to the state by April 1.